No Bond review can ever get past its opening paragraph without mentioning GoldenEye on N64, so here we go. Quantum Of Solace is NOT GoldenEye, get over it, it was years ago and times have moved on. This latest addition to Bond lore is not only based on the upcoming movie but also takes a trip through Daniel Craig’s first outing as Bond, Casino Royale.

Quantum Of Solace’s biggest selling point is the fact that the game is running on the Call Of Duty 4 engine, not that you’d know it mind. The game looks as if it’s dragged some of its textures from the PS2, and when jumping into cover and entering a third-person view, you’ll see that the model of Daniel Craig is sucking up so many polygons he may as well be a black whole.

What it lacks in visual finesse, though, it certainly makes up for in variety. It seems Treyarch has managed to cram in so many action moments that you’ll find you’re never far from a fight. You’ll be taking in all the highlights from the films and the most surprising thing is that it all works pretty well. The fights play out like a watered down WWII game with some Bond brutality thrown in for good measure, and ends up playing like a very competent shooter. Every time we thought that Quantum Of Solace was just another rubbish movie licence it threw in another set piece, kicked in that classic music and downright surprised us.

It wisely sticks to straight-up shooting, even the odd stealth mission (avoid the cameras) can be completed by just walking in, letting the cameras see you and simply killing all who arrive. It never strays too far from what works and if you squinted real hard and turned down the volume it could almost, almost pass for a Call Of Duty game.

Overall, this is an unexpected game. Everything points to the fact that by all accounts it should be awful. Licences like this hardly ever work, but amazingly it comes off feeling like a fun, throwaway shooter with a workable shooting mechanic and some quite enjoyable moments that, while strictly not very Bond in nature, make the game well worth a look if you’re either a Bond fan or even just enjoy a good shooter.

David L